Blackberry creates a Storm.....well not quite.

Since the worldwide success of the Apple iPhone, smart phone manufacturers have been desperately trying to take back some of its market share.

With devices recently released from big names such as Sony Eriksson, Samsung and HTC the latest addition to the market is the BlackBerry Storm.

Already widely being compared to the iPhone it is RIM’s first real attempt at a touch screen device.

The Storm, like previous devices is compatible with an organisations BlackBerry servers. It offers the usual e-mail integration that ‘Crackberry’ business users have come to depend upon but other features aimed at the consumer attempt to attract a different market. These include a sleek, iPhone-like design, and Blackberry’s ‘ SurePress’ touch screen, a replacement for the QWERTY keyboard.

Clickable

The touch screen is designed to simulate the actual clicking of keys. This is achieved by the screen itself being tactile and flexing as a user makes their choices. In theory it sounds like a great idea – the best of both worlds – but in reality it just doesn’t work. Light touches on the screen highlight an option but don’t select it, when typing you have to press fully the screen or you miss letters. Whilst I was testing the Storm I felt the tactile screen made the device feel poorly constructed, nothing like the bullet proof devices they’ve been selling so well for years.

User Interface

The user interface, one of the original Blackberry’s best features is confusing and inconsistent – achieving nothing but frustrating the poor user.

Do I want one?

An iPhone killer it is not, the Blackberry Storm just falls short of the mark. From a manufacturer that has built its reputation on devices that are more functional/useable than flashy, this is way off.